While we strive for a lively and vigorous debate of the issues, we do not tolerate name calling, foul language or other inappropriate behavior. Please see our discussion guidelines and terms of use for more information.

While we do our best to moderate comments, we do not screen comments before they are posted. If you see a comment that violates our guidelines, please use the "Report Abuse" link to notify us of the issue.

I guess I won't be coming to Milwaukee...don't intend to get a smartphone (why pay for what I don't need) and there's no commuter train to get from the western suburbs, either...my money will be getting spent elsewhere.

The authors aren't proposing a system that would require you to own a smartphone to park your car. They're proposing a system that would allow you the option of using a smartphone instead of paying at the kiosk. And the 15% vacancy rate means you could be confident of finding a free space on any block any time you wanted to park there. And the parking money would be going to improve the neighborhood. Sounds pretty good to me.

Thank you for the ideas here. Having worked in various sites west of the River in Milwaukee's downtown and watched it deteriorate in dismay, I appreciate any effort and thought on how to make this area more livable for work, shopping, dining, entertainment and all the other things great cities have. There's not a time when when walking from my office that I don't see folks frustrated with the parking kiosk's, at times they are almost impossible to read. There has to be a better system out there. Any why the horrific amount of bus traffic on Wis Ave? A nightmare to cross or drive in at times with the sheer volume of buses on a single quite narrow street. The notion that shopping and dining will work better on the Ave is defeated by the constant presence of loud, smoke blowing 15 tons of metal barreling as fast they can from one intersection to another. At least enforce a slow speed limit with these behemoths. And can't some use other streets? Leveraging a few minor changes to parking/transportation could make the downtown business area, especially in the West Wisconsin area, much more accessible and desirable for business and residents.

The parking situation downtown is hostile and exploitive. A local TV station is doing an expose on that subject tonight. And the parking kiosk is nothing more than a toll booth. This system allows the city to charge as much as the desperate driving public can bear, giving them the convenience to use their credit cards instead of needing to carry around a sack of quarters. I have seen rates as high as 2.00 per hour in some areas. This is an example of a government tax that is easy to avoid, just go downtown as little as possible.

Worked for years around Farwell & North, NML, third ward and other hard to find parking areas. Even with monthly paid spot there were those days someone was parked in your spot. The parking situation isn't just a barrier for retailers it hurts employers because workers don't want to deal with the parking hassle. Gave up on working downtown because digging the car out in the winter was no fun. Live in a city with smart park technology. Prefer to utilize mass transit because its nice to be dropped off at the door.

Think we could better marry smart park technology with mass transit to develop a transit card that could be used to pay for both. Parking further away with a quick bus ride to the door think people would find easier than the parking spot a few blocks away.

Our city just went through a changeover of all the parking meters. Idea of a one use transit parking card came up. The technology did exist both with bus fare boxes and parking meter systems for a one use card. As we evolve in city planning to meet needs of our changed society along with technology advances think we should look for opportunities to simplify. The one use transit card idea hit a road block even before the technology could be discussed. City owned the parking meters and a separate government unit controlled the buses creating problems for revenue sharing. One transit authority governing mass transit and parking had to be thought over. It makes sense from technology and end user viewpoint for those two needs to be governed from one authority. Milwaukee like many other sizeable cities could benefit from a joint transit authority to remove the barriers of city v county government.

I really, really, really like this idea. The lack of adequate parking downtown Milwaukee is a huge inhibitor to commerce in certain areas--particularly The Third Ward and the Cathedral Square areas.

I also concur with the concept of having dynamic pricing to ensure availability. Parking should be free on Sunday mornings in the winter when demand is low, but parking should be very high on summer Thursday when Jazz in the Park is happening or when Summerfest is in full swing.

Commuter rail from Waukesha & Ozaukee Counties would be a wonderful addition to Milwaukee, the likelihood of that happening in our lifetimes seems very low given the current political and economic climate. Thus, we'll all have to keep driving, which means that we'll need parking spots. Let's make it as easy as possible.

...and don't even bother mentioning the bus. People who can afford not to do so simply don't take the bus. It is the transportation choice of the impoverished alone.